John stood gasping in the doorway as he watched his friend fall to the floor. He couldn't watch this, not again. His best friend had died once and that was already too much for him to bare. He stood frozen unable to grasp anything that was happening. It was almost as if Sherlock was falling in slow motion, his eyes open in surprise. John followed his eyes to where the bullet had come from, the whole scene freezing before him. Saying he was surprised by the person who stood on the other end of the gun would be an understatement. The anger and sadness that rushed in was overwhelming and he continued to stand frozen tears slowly beginning to fall down his face. Suddenly everything was back in motion, John ran to Sherlock, ignoring the pain in his chest as he pushed past his own wife. He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance, pulling Sherlock into his lap.

"I'm sorry Sherlock, I never meant for things to be like this. She was supposed to be the normal one…"

Tears poured out of his eyes and he did everything he could to keep Sherlock from dying. He continued to feel his pulse and listen to his breathing, fearing the loss of his best friend.

"I'm losing you Sherlock, please, don't do this to me again. Just don't be dead…"

The paramedics rushed in and John followed along as they loaded Sherlock onto a stretcher and put him in an ambulance. He rode along to the hospital and held his friends hand the whole way muttering over and over again,

"I'm sorry Sherlock. I'm so sorry, this shouldn't have happened, this is all my fault."

They arrived at the hospital and rushed Sherlock to an emergency room. John watched from the window as the doctors did everything in their ability to save Sherlock's life. John had never felt something so heart shattering as the sound of Sherlock's pulse stopping, the line going flat and the machine squealing. The doctors all shook their heads in disappointment and started to walk away, cleaning up the room. John couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears. He had lost his best friend, but this time it was real. He stood crying in the window for a few more seconds when he suddenly heard a doctor shouting. He looked up and saw the doctors rushing to Sherlock's bedside. In that moment John witnessed a miracle, he watched as the dead line pulse of his friend began to beep again.

A half hour went by before John was able to enter the room. The doctors wanted to make sure that Sherlock was steady before they left him alone. John walked in and shook hands with the doctor that had saved Sherlock's life.

"Thanks, for everything." John said, smiling at the doctor.

"No problem. Do you happen to be John?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well you must be quite some man. The first thing Sherlock said when he woke up was John."

"Oh, well he doesn't have many friends…" I said, surprised myself at Sherlock's first words.

"Oh, well I guess I'll leave you two alone", the doctor said, opening the door to the room for John to enter.

John walked into the white walled room, the sounds of machines and Sherlock's breathing filling the room. He stood next to the bed and smiled down at Sherlock, relieved to see his friend living and breathing.

"Hey Sherlock, how you doing?"

"I'm fine. This whole thing is crazy, they won't let me leave yet."

"Well you did, almost die. Actually technically speaking, you did die."

"So I heard."

They both sat there for a few seconds in silence, unsure of what to say to each other.

"I heard you said my name", John just about whispered.

"Yeah. You were in danger, I decided I shouldn't die."

"Sherlock you can't just decide not to die."

"I did."

"Did not."

"You don't believe me?"

"Not really."

"Well I was just on the edge of death, trying to deal with the pain, but then Moriarty told me you were in danger. I took every last ounce of strength I had left and pulled myself up the staircase."

"What staircase? What Moriarty? Sherlock, what are you talking about?" John just stood confused as to what Sherlock was saying.

"Never mind. All you should know is that I came back to life for you. I guess you could say I was returning the favor."

"What favor?"

"Well you saved my life, so I saved yours."

"I was never in danger Sherlock."

"You do realize your wife is still out there somewhere with a gun."

"Yeah, okay you don't need to remind me."

John stood quiet for a few minutes just staring at Sherlock. His normally pale skin was sickly white, his eyes had dark circles around them, and he looked so fragile, so breakable. John unconsciously reached his hand down and held Sherlock's hand in his own. He sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed and held Sherlock's hand, gently stoking his thumb back and forth, until finally Sherlock fell asleep. John began to fall asleep too, but was awoken by a nurse who had come in to check on Sherlock. She did her business and then left and John decided he better get some sleep in an actual bed. He stood up and bent down, pressing a chaste kiss to Sherlock's forehead before turning and walking out of the room. That night John went to 221B Baker Street where Mrs. Hudson was more than glad to have him back. He started the night in his old bedroom in his old bed but soon felt himself walking to Sherlock's room and laying in Sherlock's bed. He pulled up the covers and inhaled the comforting scent of his best friend.

"I'm sorry Sherlock, this is all my fault. We'll fix it, I promise."